Air India ‘Kanishka’ plane crash: How much does Canada know of country's deadliest terror attack

The 38th anniversary of the deadliest incident of terrorism in Canadian history - the bombing of Air India flight 182, or 'Kanishka' will be on June 23, 1985.

A survey released on Thursday by the non-profit, public polling agency Angus Reid Institute, or ARI, noted their study found that 'nine-in-ten Canadians say they have little (61%) or no (28%) knowledge of the worst single instance of the mass killing of their fellow citizens, with three-in-five (58%) of those younger than 35 saying they have never even heard of it'.

The bombing of the Kanishka by Khalistani terrorists was also the deadliest aviation-related terrorist incident till 9/11. The terror attack claimed the lives of 329 people, including 280 Canadian citizens.

The doomed aircraft was flying from Montreal to London via Toronto when it was blown up by Khalistani terrorists. Some of its remnants were strewn over the coast of Ireland's Cork region, the rest sank into the North Sea. All 307 passengers and 22 crew members on board were killed. It is recognized as its National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism.

"Just one-in-ten (11%) Canadians say they 'know a lot' about the incident. A majority (61%) say they know just the main details while three-in-ten (28%) have not heard about the Air India Bombings at all," the ARI survey stated.

The anniversary on Friday comes at a particularly fraught time as it follows the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Khalistani activist and president of a gurdwara in British Columbia, on Sunday evening.

Nijjar faced multiple terrorism charges in India but none of those were established in a Canadian court.

His killing, in the parking lot of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib in Surrey, which he headed, has led secessionist outfit Sikhs for Justice, which he was associated with, of accusing India of being behind the killing.

Police are looking for two masked men in connection with the murder. On Wednesday, Sgt. Timothy Pierotti of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, or IHIT said, "We understand there is a lot of speculation regarding the motive of this homicide, but we are dedicated to learning the facts and letting the evidence lead our investigation."

Meanwhile, there are plans for a car rally to the memorial in Toronto, being organised in the name of Talwinder Singh Parmar, considered the leader of the conspiracy behind the bombing, a development which has outraged family members of the victims of the tragedy.

Posters for the rally have cropped up across the town of Brampton in the Greater Toronto Area or GTA, including near a temple. However, other posters of the episode, marking the 'Deadliest Terror Attack in Canadian History' with '329 killed by Khalistani terrorists' have also appeared this year.

But overall, as the ARI pointed out, "38 years later, few Canadians remember this, the deadliest terrorist incident in Canada’s history."

By Anirudh Bhattacharyya, Toronto

Jun 23, 2023 12:05 PM IST